Ironing board



Jun 29 1926.

w. N. MHLLER IRONING BOARD Filed Oct. 6. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN vawrore- WILL/AM 1v. MILLER.

1,590,390 w. N. MILLER IRONING BOARD Filed Oct. 6, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN VE/VTOR. WILL/AM N MILLER. 5y (9W7 Cam 4 r ATTOPNE S.

I I June 29 1926.

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Fatented June 29, 1926.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM N. MILLER, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

IRONING- BOARD.

Application filed October 6, 1923.

This invention relates to an ironing board and especially to improvements on the structure shown in my former patent, entitled Folding ironing board, issued" April 15, 1919, No. 1,300,993.

The object of the present invention is to provide a disappearing structure in the form of an ironing board or the like which is adapted to be built into an ordinary kitchen cabinet, cupboard or like piece of furniture; a board which is adapted to be placed in the space usually employed for a drawer and to be concealed therein when not in use; a board which is pivotally secured in the drawer space and which is adapted to be swung on a horizontal plane outwardly from said space when its use isrequired; a board which is adapted both to be extended and to fold, thus reducing the space required when not in use; a board which is frictionally secured both against horizontal swinging movement and extending action; and fur ther, a board which may be readily padded and covered for use.

One form which my invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- I Fig. 1 is a perspective view'of a cabinet, the view b eing partly broken away to show the manner in which the ironing board is mounted. V v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cabinet show ing the top removed, the view showing the ironing board in folded and in concealed position within the cabinet and being pivotally secured on the right hand side of the cabinet.

Fig. 3 Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4; is a similar cross-section showing the ironing board in extended position.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the ironing board looking at the opposite side of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on line 66, Fig. 5. D

Fig 7 is a broken away perspect ve view showing the inner end of the beam and the securing means employed.

The ironing board forming the subjectmatter of the present application is a so called disappearing type of board and may .be built into a wall structure, a kitchen cabinet, a cupboard, or like piece of furniture. I m y a so e pp ied to furniture alrea y is across-section on line 3-3,

Serial No. 666,875.

in use, for instance, by utilizing a drawer space or the like. ,In the present instance the ironing board is shown as built into an ordinary kitchen cabinet, in which A indicates the front of the cabinet, 2 the sides, 3 the back, and 4c the top of the cabinet. Formed directly below the top portion is a space or chamber 5, and adapted to form a closure therefor is a door 6 hingedly secured to the front of the cabinet as shown at.7; the door being adapted to swing downwardly when the ironing board is to be used and to be closed to conceal the ironing board when it is swung into the chamber or drawer space 5. I r

The ironing board consists of a beam 8 of suitable length, which is pivotally secured to the bottom 9 of the drawer space by means of a bolt- 10. v The ironing board is supported by the beam 8 andit consists of two sections such as shown at 11 and 12. The main section of the ironing board, indicated at 11, is slidably mounted on the beam and it carries the front or auxiliary section 12. A double hinge, consisting of three sections as shown at 13, 14 and 15, forms a connection between the ironing board sections. 11 V and 12, and thus permits folding of one sec tion with relation to the other when the ironing board is swung into the drawer space. The beam 8 has a length approximately equal to that of the drawer space, and it is adapted to be swung from the position shown in Fig.2 to the position shown in Fig. 1. The beam swings about the pivot 10 and it is adapted to be locked when extended by passing under a camshaped or inclined shoulder 16 formed in the back part of the cabinet previously referred to by the numeral 3. It may furthermore be stated that it is frictionally held when in this position so that the board will not swing about its pivot 10 when being worked upon. This is accomplished as follows:

The inner end of the beam 8 is rounded as shown at 17 and one edge of the beam is slightly chamfered as shown at 18. When the beam is swung to extended position it passes in under an angle block 19 and a slot 20 cut in the back 3. The forward end of the slot is cam-shaped or angularly disposed as at 16, and as this portion engages the chamfered end of the beam indicated at 18, a frictional lock is obtained which secures the beam against swinging movement about its P v t Th l' eaal int-a kf m tween the end of the beam and the rear section 3 of the cabinet is of further importance as it secures the inner end of the beam and holds it securely and snugly against the bottom section This prevents tipping of the beam when the ironing board is being worked upon and as such forms a steady rest for the ironing board.

The main section of the ironing board indicated at 11 is slidably mounted on the beam 8 and may be moved substantially from end to end thereof, the board 11 being moved inwardly on the beam until it strikes he back 3 of thecabinet when it is des ed to swing the same into the drawer space; the auxiliary section 12 beino first folded upon the main section 11 before the section is moved inwardly on the beam. The board 11 has a length substantially equal to the beam 8 but the auxiliary section 12 of the board is slightly shorter. The board therefore in reality consists of three main sections, the beam 8, the main board 11 and the auxiliary or folding board indicated at 12. These are positioned one on top of the other when the board is swung into the drawer space and asthe ironing board sections thus positioned have a length sligl'it-iy less than the beam 8, it is obvious that a fairly sn'ialldrawer space may be employed.

A sliding connection between the beam 8 and the board section 11 is obtained by forming a tongue 19? on each side of the beam. An opposed or interlocking tongue 20 is secured to the board 11 on each side of the beam and a sliding connection is thus formed between the beam and the board 11. By referring to Fig. i it will be noted that the tongues 19 and 20 taper from end to end, the tongue 19 having its smallest depth at the inner end as indicated at 21 and its greatest depth at the outer end as shown at 22. The tongues 20 on the board 11 are reversed and a frictional lock is thus formed between the board 11 and the beam 8 when the board 11 is moved to its extended position. This frictional iock is also of importance it prevents longitudinal movement or" the ironing board with relation to the beam when the board is being worked upon.

Efrem the foregoing it can be seen thatthe ironing board is held against swinging movement when it is worked upon by means of the frictional interlock formed between the inner end of the beam 8 and the camshaped section 16' of the rear wall of the cabinet, and that longitudinal movement of the, board is presented by the frictional interlock formed between the opposed tongues 19 and 20 The foldajble section 12: of the ironing board is, as previously stated, hingedly secured to the main section 11' and it is'supported when unfolded or e2;- tendedby theftongue members 2O as these are extended forwardly of the main board to which they are secured as-indicated at 23. (See Figs. 2 and 4.) These extended ends form a support for the foldable section 12 and thus support the same when extended.

The double or oifset hinge connection formed between the ironing board sections is of importance as it forms a spacing between the ironing board when folded; this being clearly illustrated by the dotted or foided position of the board section 12 shown at 12 in Fig. 4. This spacing takes care of the padding and cover of the ironing board and therefore permits it to be quite heavily padded and it furthermore permits -L aar-allel-positioi i when folded; The double hinges are employed for the purpose of pro viding a space for the padding as already stated. It is for this reason that the hinge section 15 is secured to the board 12, as crown in Fig. 1, and it is also for the same 7 eason that a depression 23 is formed in the member 23; that is the intermediate hinge section it swings about the two hinge ecti'ons about theh-inge section formed between the intermediate member 1a and the member 15 and as such swings in an arc. Such areuate movement requires space and it is for this reason that the depression isprovided.

In actual practice I havefound that it is a very simple matter to pad and cover the board when extended as 'shown in Fig. 5, but that the padding and par-tic-ularlythe cover has a tendency to tear when the section 12 is folded. To prevent thistearing action, I employ a pair of rounded l-ugs such as shown at 241;, and I also round the-outer corners of the main board section 11 as shown at 25. By providing -the rounded corners 25 and the rounded lugs 2 1, I find that the cover slides up and thus permits-the board section 12 tobe readilyand easily folded without tearing the cover. It is therefore important that thesefea-tures be employed.

To readily secure-the cover when the pad ding has been put in place, a pair ofcanvas strips is employed in connection with the foldable section 12 as indicated at 27. These canvas strips are. secured to the underside of the section'12 by means of, a pair of W oden strips which are nailed to the board. The cover when put in place is folded in under the board and is there secured by passing pins through the cover andthe canvas strips 27. It may thus be drawn tight and snugly oven the board and wrinkles are entirely obviated; V i

To secure the cover. to the main section of the board, a pair of side canvas strips is employed assho'avn at 29. Tlisestri'p's extend from end to end of the main section 11' and are. secured by Wooden strips to the ongue sec ions-20,-

The cover proper-is stretched over the bile board sections 11 and 12 to assume a i and 15. The board 12 swings main section of the board and it is then folded in under, pinned or otherwise secured to the canvas strips 29. The cover may thus be stretched tightly from end to end and this taut position will be maintained as long as the board 12 is extended. The moment, however, it is desired to fold the board and to swing it back into the cabinet, it is readily accomplished as the rounded lugs 24 and the corners 25 permit the unpinned section of the cover to slip up over the same and as such permits the section 12 to be folded or to assume the position shown at 12 in Fig. 4;. When the board has thus been folded it is only necessary to push inwardly on the main section 11 until it strikes the rear wall 3 of the cabinet. The beam 8 is then grasped and swung about its pivot until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 2 and thefront door 6 may thus be swung up and closed, and the board is thus stored away and concealed.

In my previous patent referred to positive stop lugs were employed for locking the beam when in extended position, and pins were employed for the purpose of securing the board when moved outwardly on the beam. These features complicated the construction and installation of the board and did not satisfactorily serve the purpose intended; said features or objections have, however, been overcome by the present structure as friction locks are employed in each instance. The friction locks furthermore simplify the construction and as such reduce the cost of manufacture and installation.

Vhile the structure here illustrated represents an ironing board, it is obivous that it might be employed for a table, seat or otherwise, and I therefore do not wish to limit the application to the particular use here set forth. I also wish it understood that various changes in form and proportion may be resorted to Within the scope of the appended claims, and that the materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the experience and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate or various uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- 1. The combination with a cabinet having a compartment formed therein, of a beam pivotally secured in the compartment and adapted to be swung horizontally about a pivot into or out'of the compartment, means engageable with one end of the beam for frictionally securing the beam against swinging movement when out of the compartment and an ironing board supported by the beam.

2. In a structure of the character described, a cabinet having a compartment formed therein, a beam pivotally secured in the compartment and adapted to be swung about the pivot into and out of the compartment, an ironing board supported by the beam and means for securing the beam against swinging movement about its pivot when swung out of the compartment, said means comprisng a cam-shaped member on the inner end of the beam and a cooperating cam-shaped member in the rear wall of the cabinet under which the inner end of the beam passes and by which it is frictionally secured.

WILLIAM N. MILLER. 

